Will Sonny Gray be traded before Yankees’ season begins?

The New York Yankees have put themselves in a precarious situation with Sonny Gray. Brian Cashman doubled down on his original statement made after the season where he said the Yankees would absolutely trade Sonny Gray. When asked this week, Cashman unequivocally stated “Yes, we plan on trading Sonny Gray”.

Now Cashman never stated when he would trade Gray, just that he would trade him at some point. It could come before Spring Training, it could come before the season, or it could even wait until the trade deadline next season. Regardless, Sonny Gray is good as gone.

Cashman made this inevitable trade a little more difficult by being so open about it. He was staunch about it throughout this entire offseason and never backed down from his comments. That may seem like a noble thing to do, but the Yankees lose a little leverage each time he mentions it. If the rest of the league knows the Yankees are constantly trying to give Gray away, his value is low and teams are less likely to give up much for a player whose own team doesn’t even want him.

Gray will forever be one of those Yankees who “never earned his pinstripes”. He never looked comfortable in New York. He never shone in a big moment. He always looked out of sorts under the bright lights. Some guys just aren’t built to withstand the pressure of New York, and it’s no fault of his own. The Yankees may keep him around for a little while because of C.C. Sabathia’s heart surgery in December. Sabathia signed on for another year with the Yanks, but recently got a stent put in his heart to clear up a blockage. If the big man can’t go to start the season, Gray can be relied upon in a low-leverage fifth starter role.

Gray still has a lot to prove, but as mentioned before it will not be in a Yankees uniform. Unless somehow Gray completes a miraculous turnaround and becomes a Cy Young award winner, this was one of the few trades that Brian Cashman didn’t win on. It will still be a few years before we can determine if the Oakland A’s really won this trade, but what we know for sure is that the Yankees didn’t.